The next morning after some well needed rest, Bellator and I went out to the woods early to find a morning meal, we got lucky and caught a few fat lazy rabbits, a couple of grouse, and came across a good size wild patch of tubers, roots, and berries. This was great, at home I would not have berries this time of year.
"Valandria, is there anywhere that you can suggest as a good place to bring Kai to?" My father asked her.
"There is a place, it's west of here. Not far. The valley of Gweiadur is another full day's travel for us west. An old awakened temple we call Ofre is east of us, at least two days." She said,
"We would have to split to make the plan work. You will have to send word to your people to go there." My father said,
Valandria shook her head, "There are Dryads in the area of Ofre. If we head there we can prepare for your Magus."
"Now how do we get the message out?" I asked.
"Let's head to the Valley, and intercept a few travelers, tell them we heard of a small group camping near a temple west of the valley, that possesses a godly gem." Bellator said.
We all agreed. Valandria, and I would head west, Bellator and my father would head to the valley and intercept travelers on the road, then join us at the ruins.
"How would we find it on our own?" Bellator asked
"I'll leave magic markers, this mark," Valandria drew a long line, and from the middle of that line, two more lines on either end, reaching outwards. "Every few miles along our trail, on the trees. If you lost them, then you have lost us. So pay attention." She said,
"That's good enough, we won't get lost." My father said,
We spent the rest of the morning preparing to travel separately.
"Don't be seen," I lectured my father, "Especially by Kai!"
"Calm down, Kaida! I survived this far in life. I have a small idea of how to stay out of sight." He said.
"Take care of my father, Bellator, please." I asked.
"I will do my best." He nodded.
They left, and something told me they shouldn't be going.
"Let's go," Valandria said, climbing aboard her white steed.
Reluctantly, I climbed onto my own horse, and we left west.
Valandria moved through the trees in front of me, leading the way. She told me when we started to Ofre that we would camp overnight near a lake. A camp the Dryadalis use often when they travel this way.
"How often do you come through here Valandria?" I asked.
"I am often tasked with clan requests. We have our own troubles, and I take care of those problems." She answered.
"Like some sort of mercenary?" I asked her.
"Of sorts. I am not a simple soldier. I am a Ranger. I am a part of a team that upholds Dryadalis law. I will investigate, arbitrate, and prosecute." She told me.
"So equal to our version of a law bringer." I said. She nodded, agreeing. "With a little more power." She added, smiling.
We reached the camp before nightfall, stopping now and then to burn a mark into the tree trunks. We were travelling along the shore of the lake, deciding to stop and catch some fish for supper.
Valandria stood watching me look for the right stick to use. "What are you doing?"
"Fishing?" I answered her.
"Why do you not use your powers to bring the fish to you?" She asked again.
"My magic isn't adequate, compared to other awakenings." I admitted. "Using magic usually ends in embarrassment for me, so I learned to live without depending on magic." I shrugged.
"Even with a god's heart in your chest?" She pointed at me.
"I haven't tried anything other than combat magic since I have gotten the stone." I told her.
"So try now, I'm hungry." She said to me laughing.
I raised my hand, palm facing the lake and held the hilt of the stone blade. I turned my hand like I had caught a fish in the water, and raised it up. Just a few feet in front of me, a big trout came rising out of the water, I moved my hands towards my chest, pulling the fish towards me, as it flopped in the air.
Catching one trout with magic doesn't seem like a huge feat, unless you are me. The only thing I have ever pulled from a lake was the fish from a hook, and weeds from my feet. I was thrilled. I did it again. Then again. And by the time I had a pile of 5 fish, Valandria stopped me laughing.
"You better be hungry." She said to me, smiling.
We gutted and cleaned the fish on the shore, and rinsed off. I put the cleaned fish into an extra side bag and we headed towards the camp.
"There will be other Dryadalis there. They will bring the message to Cinneadh council," She looked at me, I was about to ask Where, when she answered before I could.
"The Dryad city." She explained to me.
"Is that close to where we met?" I inquired.
"Yes, you would have passed by the barrier if you would have trailed north of the river of Gwear, instead of the south side."
"Ahh, I would have liked to have seen that." I said to her,
"You would not have. It is hidden from others. If you happen to pass through a barrier without a Dryad escort, you would have been killed. "She told me seriously.
"Oh. Well, then when this is all over and dealt with, You better escort me in then" I said smiling.
We were moving through the trees away from the lake, and came across two trees with matching markers, the same markers Valandria drew for my father and Bellator. She moved forward on her horse between the trees, I followed.
As we passed through, the environment changed. There was a long two level cabin, with a slanted roof of thatch, and a brattice around the upper level, just down a small beaten path. Neighbored by a horse stable on the right.
A camp? I thought. More like a grand hall.
There were lanterns on either end of the double doors of the stable. Hopping down from our horses and entering inside, we led the horses to empty stalls, they were each met with fresh grain and water in the stall. Valandria smiled.
"Nice right? Wait until you see the cabin." She laughed with a wink. "I know you were awakened to use magic as a privilege, not a right. So enjoy this at least a little." She laughed as she saw my disapproving expression. Awakened did use magic as a privilege, because there's much more in the world we can learn than having magic do everything for us. Like tend to our horses.
We walked over to the cabin, she opened the door and walked in. Inside was a great room, open with a fire burning high and warm in a large squared brazier. There were beautiful potted plants around the surrounding walls, wooden benches along either side of the fire. The right side of the room was lined with two long counters, wash basins, dishes set aside on a wooden shelf. Horned cups, and decanters full of a purple wine set on a table, ready for drink. It was not at all what I expected.
Then I heard it. The first tiny giggle. My skin crawled as I looked up above me. Pixies. There were damned pixies flying around the top of the cabin, swooping in and out of their circular nests hanging from long, thick green vines that crossed the ceiling.
"Nope." I stood up, "I'll sleep in the woods." I reached for the bag of fish Valandria had around her arm, She moved backwards.
"What's wrong?" She asked, looking up. "The pixies?" She asked with wide eyes, and a grin on her face. "They won't bother you while you are here. I promise." She laughed in her bird trill tone, and strode right over to the kitchen area of the room.
She moved around the cooking space like it was her own, pulling out a spit and spearing the fish after giving it a rinse in a small basin on the counter. She pulled out a plug from the bottom, let the water run out, and replaced the plug. The basin then refilled with clean water again.
She pulled open two large cupboard doors, displaying a large fire pit. She flicked her wrist and a fire started, bright, and hot. She placed the spit into place through the fire, and turned to grab two horns that we shaved down enough to stand. She poured them both with the purple wine, and passed me one.
"Slán" She said, raising her cup to mine.
We clanked the cups together and drank. It didn't take long for the fish to be ready to eat, it smelled delicious. Valandria pulled it from the fire, and put the pile of fish onto a dish made of woven leaves.
As she did this, two more elves entered the cabin's main doors. They were laughing and talking about something in dryadalian. However, when they spotted Valandria and I, they turned very serious. They both walked up to Valandria, placed their fist over their opposite shoulder and bowed their heads.
"Beannacht." They said respectfully. Then stood straight.
"What brings you out this way, Valandria?" The first elf asked,
"Clan business, and what of you, Naal? Grei?" She asked them.
"On our way to Cinneadh. We were scouting west for trade in the village of Rendath. We were only able to gain so much as it crawled with awakened." Naal told Valandria as he side eyed me.
"Good, I want you to deliver a message to Hafa. Can you do this?" She asked me, who both agreed.
"Good, join us for some fish and leafy greens. We have brought much. And I will discuss what you need to know" She ordered them.
We supped with the men, explaining to them about Kai, and Amaia. And how Valandria wanted them to help us by protecting the area of Ofre. We wanted to give the awakened people the option of not fighting and to learn the truth of Kai. We poured one last glass of wine. "Time for sleep. We can rest here for a day, or we can go to the ruined temples and wait. I'm personally all for staying for a day.. Or two." She said,
"Let's decide tomorrow. I'm tired and this wine is strong." I replied.
"Very well." She agreed.
She took me to a room down a hall, "Sleep here, I will see you in the morning." She turned and went down the hall, leaving me.
I entered the room, it was furnished with a wooden framed bed, complete with furs and linen blankets. There was a simple metal lantern hanging from the ceiling in the middle. I sent a tiny flame inside. The floors were stone, and a window that was closed with wooden panels that could be moved open or shut to let the air in.
I closed the windows, locking it with a thin piece of wood through slots across the boards. There was a large washing barrel in the corner of the room, it was full of clean, clear water. On a wooden table beside it was a jar of washing oils and fresh linens to wash and dry with.
I cleaned my body and hair, and the water was warmed. I welcomed it against my muscles, it was well needed. I scrubbed my clothing in the water when I was done making sure my clothing was fresh once again. I hung them on a rack over top of the water, placed my leather armor on a chair near the window, then crawled in the soft bed. The feeling of cleaned linen and heavy furs carried me to sleep quickly. My last thoughts were of Bellator, and my father hoping they were safe and have made some progress on their own quest.
"Kaida?" Valandria called my name while she was knocking on the door. It was definitely late in the morning, the sun was beaming through the cracks of the shutters, and I felt more rested than ever.
"One moment," I answered her back, stumbled out of my bed and dressed without my armor. Just plain trousers and a long sleeved shirt.
Opening the door to the room, Valandria was dressed in completely different armor. Instead of the dark leather she was wearing the night before she was dressed in brown leather with green colored leather woven along the side of the legs. They looked looser, and not well made for battle.
"Training gear!" She said with a smile. "Want to come do an endurance course with me? I thought we could try that rooting spell as well."
"Yeah, of course." I agreed. I would take my chance at whatever hidden course I didn't spot last night.
We grabbed a bite to eat before we left, and Valandria had given me some training gear to wear. Remarkably, it was amazing. It breathed in all the right places, it moved well. I was keeping this gear.
The course was in the trees, apart of the trees, there were spears spiraling up the trunk of a larger tree leading to a platform with ropes to swing across to another platform. Roped bridges, loose ropes that ran down a few other trees meant for climbing. There were targets and training posts. The course climbed through the trees to the top.
I started laughing, "No wonder you Dryadalis are so limber and quick to jump."
Valandria smiled, "I am sure you will do fine, let's go!" She said encouragingly, turned and sprinted towards the spear staircase.
She reached over and passed me two hand covers, each one had a strange cover on the palms, it was slightly sticky but easy to pull away from. I had never seen it before. I wasn't going to ask either, for all I knew it was dried magical slug slime. I didn't need to know. I was sticking my hands together and pulling them apart intrigued by the gloves when I noticed Val looking at me grinning.
"Great right? I don't use them, but you should for your first...week?" She laughed. "Watch me first, then follow"
Valandria turned around, crouched, and then took off, running up the spiraling spears, to the platform above, jumping for the rope hanging between two trees and climbing up. Reaching the top, she reached for a thick branch it was hanging from, and handed her way down the branch. When she reached the tree it was reaching from, she crawled down a ladder of smaller branches cut down the trunk to another platform that wrapped around the tree it was housed on, across from the first.
She turned, smiled and motioned for me to follow.
Yeah, okay. I can do this, I thought to myself. Give me an axe and a sword any day, climbing trees is another thing.
I backed up and crouched and ready myself, hoping my feet wouldn't fail me now. I dashed towards the spears, running up the first few, I stumbled and fell to the side. I could hear Valandria giggling up on her platform, but that was not all. When I looked up, she was sitting with her feet dangling off the edge, a group of brownies standing beside her giggling with her.
"Again!" She yelled at me, the brownies echoing her words in tiny annoying voices.
After a dozen falls, and a few words I rarely used directed at the brownies and pixies who decided to join in the fun, I made it to the first platform. Breathing heavy, and proud that I finally made it here. I readied my sore legs, and leaped for the rope, grabbing it and holding tight. I climbed up to the top, that was the easy part. I reached for the branch, the gloves helping me keep my grip. I handed my way, miss gripping a few times until I reached the trunk of the next tree. I climbed down the branched steps and jumped onto the platform beside Valandria. She nodded and clapped my shoulder with her hand. The brownies and pixies ran away from me as I reached them, afraid I would stomp them into paste like I promised.
"Well done, the spears really are the hardest part in this section." She told me.
"Great." I said.
Walking around the platform to the other side of the large tree, we were faced with a single rope, reaching between the platform and the next tree, leading to another rope hanging from another branch. The rope was tight, not very long, but long enough to make me think twice about this.
Without hesitation Valandria ran across the rope, her arms out to her side keeping her balance, but fast like a house cat. She grabbed the hanging rope when it was in reach and jumped down the tree using the rope to guide her. She then snatched up a bow leaning against the tree, pulled three arrows from the quiver beside it, and sent three quick arrows into a target hidden high in the branches of yet another tree.
I thought to myself that one way or another I was gonna end up on the ground. Either on my feet, or on my arse. I thought about cheating a little and using a little balancing magic to keep myself up, but I would disappoint myself later that I didn't do it on my own.
I put my arms out and stepped out on the rope carefully. Gave it a push with my foot, it was tight and sturdy. I used to run along the fence line for practice, it was much thicker than this however, and I didn't need to worry about falling an entire tree's length to the ground.
I stepped out again, and with slow sturdy steps I stepped, once, twice, twelve times. My foot slipped and I went to the side, grabbing the rope as I fell. I handed the rest of the way, and reached the rope to climb down with, eventually touching the ground. I picked up the bow quickly and shot three arrows, landing two on the target and one wherever it happened to go.
My arms sore and tired already, I huffed out a few heavy breaths standing up to face Valandria who looked pleased.
"I thought you were gonna hit the ground, Kay!" She said to me,
"Let's do it again," I said to her, determined to master this.
The rest of the afternoon we climbed up and down the roped course, both falling a few times with missed grips of trying to distract each other. Eventually I was able to run the entire course without falter. I felt accomplished and better for working hard. Valandria being impressed that I was able to keep up with her. I had trained my entire life to be a warrior, my muscles were built, this course gave me a refreshed love for my passion.
"I hope I can return in the future to train with you more Valandria. You are seriously fast. Maybe I will make a course like this at home, just to keep up with you." I told her as we were walking back to the cabin.
She nodded happily and said, "Let's go clean and eat!"
We did just that, I returned to my room where the washing tub was renewed with clean fresh water complete with mint leaves, flower petals and more washing oils.
I wasn't going to deny how much I enjoyed it. I felt guilty for a moment thinking about Bellator and my father out in the woods, while I was here bathing.
I was in the tub soaking for longer than I intended. Emerging from my room and going down the hall towards the main room, I could smell roasting meat and some other things. It made my mouth water. I was hungry and I worked hard today.
Valandria was sitting on a bench that lined one of the counters in the main room, drinking and eating some kind of nuts from a platter of food. There were fruits and vegetables, some meats, seeds, and nuts. It looked great. She was laughing and talking with a few other elves that were also supping. When I took my seat beside Valandria, they went quiet.
"We saw you working on the course today, not bad for an awakened." Said a female dryad. "My names, Mie." She introduced herself.
"Thanks, I'm Kaida." I shook her wrist greeting her. "This looks good." I reached for a piece of fruit, an apple. Familiar food was always a good way to start out.
"So you are the one we are asking to help?" Another male elf asked, looking at me unimpressed.
I didn't respond to him, I kept eating my apple.
"Got a problem with that, first year?" Asked Valandria, in a lowered more steely voice than I ever heard before from her.
"No, Ranger." He looked embarrassed to be called out like that, he took up his drink and walked away towards the main fire in the room.
"Take no offence to a first year's ignorance. They usually tend to think they are better than the rest of the world when they are granted a place in the guild." Valandria said to me.
I shrugged, "No offence taken, I have learned enough humility in my own life to know better. We all do eventually." I said to her,
"The guild is your law keeper society, or whatever you call it?" I asked her.
"Yeah," She laughed, "Or whatever."
"I was wondering if you would teach me to commune with Terra? The way you do for the roots. I want to learn that. I want to root Kai to the ground, hold him down while I destroy Amaia."
I asked her.
"I will try, as promised. Kai is Magus? Why do you call him Kai, and not Magus?" She asked me.
"I do not respect him as a Magus. My father, Treydon, would have been the magus if not for Kai or Amaia. They stole his life. Or maybe I did." I stopped for a moment, wondering why I said that. "I keep thinking that maybe because Kai is my father's brother, that he might be able to be saved." I said while I poured some purple wine from a near decanter into a cup, "And if Ota would have simply killed Amaia for her crimes against the gods, that..." I stopped and thought for a second. " That everyone's lives would have been different. Including people who have died, or changed."
"You did not steal your father's life. You gave him a new life, my friend." Valandria said. "And what if Ota did execute Amaia? Your life would also be very different. I do not think you are fated for one great thing, Kaida. We believe our lives are our own, we do not let our god tell us what to do, rather we respect Terra for what she gave us, and treasure that."
She put her hand over an apple seed I was playing with on the wooden table. She held it for a moment and pulled it away revealing a small seedling growing from the table. "We help our god by continuing her work. You awakened are always giving to your gods, and only then will your gods choose to help you or not. We praise Terra by doing her work with her, and she keeps us safe, and gives us free choice. This is why we are not as reserved without magic as the awakened are. It is Terra's gift in this world to us."
She picked up a knife with two ends, stuck it into a chunk of meat and put it on a woven leaf plate and passed it over to me, then made another plate for herself.
"How should I try to communicate with Terra then, plant some trees?" I put my hand over a second seen and thought about Terra, Aadi, the earth, the.. whatever it wasn't working. I moved my hand slowly revealing the seed still. Valandria giggled.
"Let's eat and then we can go outside and try a few things." She said. "Maybe plant some trees" She mocked me, both of us laughed.
We finished off our meal, and enjoyed a little extra wine, then headed out front of the cabin.
We walked over to a group of trees near the edge of the enchantment around the camp.
"This is a good spot, surrounded by nature." Valandria said.
We sat between a group of trees across from each other, Valandria dug out a hole with her hands between us, she reached into a pouch on her hip and pulled out a handful of different seeds. Pouring a few seeds into the hole, she covered it with soil. Placing her hand overtop, repeating the same move she did at the table earlier, she encouraged the seeds to grow. The newly sprouted plants reaching from the soil towards the sun.
"When you try, feel the soil, and the life waiting in the seed." Valandria said to me.
I dug my own hole, and slid a few seeds into it, covered them up. I placed my hand over the soil. I reached out with my magic, feeling for the energy from the plants, and other life that lived in the soil. I thought of Terra, mentally thanking her for this opportunity. I place my other hand on the red blade, hoping that Aadi's power were help me.
I could feel the wind on my hand, blowing against the tiny hairs on my skin. After a moment I removed my hand, there was nothing. I expected that. I thought for a moment. I was awakened after all, others of my kind will use magic to encourage the growth of our crops and gardens to be a little faster then their usual process. Why not a tree?
I reached my hand out and made a fist as though the seed was in my hand, casting the same augmentation spell used by farmers, pulling the magic through the red blade I opened my fist, stretching my palm. A small green sprout slowly poked through the soil. This is usually where the awakened people would stop, but I kept pushing the spell into the seedling. It started to grow, popping out reaching leaves, changing color. I cast it another time, this time completely opening myself to the spell. The sprout burst into growth, shooting up and blooming into a beautiful thick tree.
I couldn't help by smile, turning to Valandria proud of my self. She nodded. "Might not have been Terra's magic, but that's the idea, Kaida. Use your magic. Stop holding back. You awakened are always so reserved with your magic. You were given a gift by the gods, use it."
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